Plant City Man Becomes Florida’s Second Execution in 2017

The Sunshine State put to death the second person this year last Thursday when it exacted the ultimate punishment upon Michael Ray Lambrix for two murders he was convicted of committing in 1983.

The 57-year-old Plant City man drew his last breath at ten minutes past ten o’clock last Thursday while strapped to a table at the Florida State Prison in Bradford County. According to witnesses, Lambrix’s last words were a portion of The Lord’s Prayer, which he pronounced immediately prior to the introduction of the lethal chemicals into his veins. Altogether, witnesses say the process took approximately five minutes.

Lambrix was convicted of the murders of Clarence Moore and Aleisha Bryant in 1983. According to the trial record, Lambrix slew the pair after becoming intoxicated at a bar in Labelle. Lambrix and his then-roommate Frances Smith allegedly met Moore and Bryant at the bar and returned with them to their trailer home. Lambrix then allegedly killed Moore and Bryant one at a time outside the trailer, returning the second time covered in blood. Authorities say Smith and Lambrix then finished the meal they began with Moore and Bryant, then buried their bodies and cleaned up.

Lambrix told a slightly different story at his trial. His defense hinged upon the assertion that Moore killed Bryant, and that his own killing of Bryant was done strictly in self defense. Lambrix maintained his innocence until the very end of his life on Thursday, characterizing his imminent execution as “an act of cold-blooded murder.”

Lambrix’s execution is the second sanctioned killing by the Florida judiciary since the practice was re-instituted earlier this year. Executions were suspended for several months due to judicial and legislative wrangling over the constitutionality of the practice.

Lambrix, whose execution was initially scheduled in 2016, was put to death last week after the Florida Supreme Court determined that only death sentences handed down since 2002 were eligible for relief.